From now on the fic will be filled with characters backstory, flashbacks and explanations; hope they answer all your potential questions as the story progresses.
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The red lights of the silent alarm installed at Marion's house in Frankfurt suddenly illuminate her office. She stands up abruptly taking a small device and pressing a button. She inhales and exhales as a way to calm her anxiety.
"Mom! Mom!" Charlotte enters the room in a rush "they're here!" she exclaims looking at her mother expectantly.
"Yeah sweetheart, they are here"
"It's time" Charlotte says with excitement.
"That's right my angel, it's time"
Marion extends her hands for Charlotte to get near. Charlotte does and hugs her mother by the waist. The older woman then crouches to be eye level with the girl, as she fixes the collar of her blouse.
"Are you ready?"
"Yes I'm ready!" Charlotte replies eagerly "'I'm gonna be brave like Sarah, proper like Alison, sneaky like Helena, smart like Cosima… and selfish like Rachel"
"And why is that?" Marion lifts a brow at the last line.
"Because now it's about me and my sisters" Charlotte smiles broadly.
"That's my girl" Marion mirrors the smile of the little clone and she leans in to envelope her in a tight hug.
Charlotte returns the hug and whispers in her mother's ear "I'm gonna miss you mommy"
Marion feels her eyes sting at the realization that this could be the last time she sees her daughter. "I'm gonna miss you too my baby" she whispers back, managing to sound steady.
She finally gives Charlotte a kiss on the forehead and stands up holding the girl by her shoulders as they both face the door.
Seconds later, three men appear with guns in their hands.
"Mrs. Bowles" One of them points at her with his gun "I think you should come with us"
"Sure" She replies with complete calmness.
"The girl!" other man demands "give her to me"
"Go with him sweetheart" Marion tells the child softly.
Charlotte reaches the man but before he leads her out of the room she turns to her mother "I love you"
A bittersweet smile spreads over Marion's lips "I love you too"
When the little girl is out of sight, the two men that remain in the room grab Marion by each of her shoulders dragging her out of the office. As they pass through the hallways Marion can see the amount of people in her house turning everything upside down. They cross the front door and walk through the large yard that is now occupied by black cars. Finally they stop next to one of the vehicles.
"Get in!" the man still grabbing her shoulder commands pushing her inside.
Marion climbs in and looks up just in time to see one car – the one that is carrying Charlotte- leaving the premises. She exhales and waits for the men to get inside too. One sits next to her, the other occupies the driver's seat. When the car starts moving she rearranges herself in the seat, as she observes armed men at the exit gate.
The car had barely crossed the gate when a sudden explosion stopped it abruptly. The impact was so hard the driver got injured.
Then out of the blue, they are surrounded by soldiers who shoot at anything and anybody crossing their path. The attack is so fast that the man next to Marion doesn't have time to react when the door by his side opens. Before he can even think about using his weapon, he receives a gunshot to the head. The door beside Marion opens too and someone reaches in and pulls her out of the car.
"Down, down" Elise yells "to the left now move, move"
The shooting continues as the two women practically crawl their way out of the fire zone. At a relatively safe area they finally stand up and run until a van stops in front of them.
Elise opens the back door and helps Marion up, once they are both inside she hits one side of the vehicle and they speed away.
"The dove is in the nest, I repeat the dove is in the nest!" Elise lets out through her in-the-ear headset as she and Marion take a seat. "Are you Ok?" She asks while scanning Marion's body.
Marion nods breathing heavily. "Everything went according to plan" she adds.
"Good" Elise replies not taking her eyes away from the woman.
A moment of silence passes between them until Marion exhales loudly covering her face with both her hands. She starts shaking as uncontrollable sobs take over her body.
"I'm sorry" Elise takes Marion by the shoulder "I'm really sorry"
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"She…" Marion gathers herself quickly before answering "she was taken by neolution"
"What!" Sarah gapes at her "When? How?!"
"They trespassed into my house in Frankfurt to capture me and Charlotte. I knew they only wanted me for answers but Charlotte…" Marion sighs "they've wanted her since the day she was born; unfortunately for them I was faster and claimed her as my daughter before they could do anything. Neolution suspected I was up to something but they weren't sure; like I wasn't sure about Castor. So their attention was mainly on getting Charlotte" She swallows "I allowed them to take her. And while they were gloating on their little victory, Elise and the team rescued me".
Sarah's jaw clenches as she speaks through gritted teeth "So you let them have my little sister to save your executive arse?"
For the first time since Sarah has known the woman, she can see another expression other than the cold and calculating ones she was used to. She sees anger reflected in Marion's face.
"Look Sarah" despite her evident fury, Marion does an amazing job at controlling herself "Charlotte is in this war as much as you or the others. She may be a kid but believe me; she's got that charming stubbornness that seems to accompany all of you. She's been self-aware her whole life and she's by far more informed than you in this matter. Charlotte is playing her part with bravery and I have no doubt she'll do it brilliantly. Letting her do that all by herself, was probably the most difficult decision I had ever made in my life, even if I knew they were not going to hurt her; she's too valuable for them to do so. But as I explained Cosima we all had to make sacrifices; for her and for all of you" She now glares at Sarah straight in the eyes "Now I would much appreciate it if you never question my love for my daughter again; because I will not allow it. Have I made myself clear?"
"Yeah... very" Sarah does her best not to look intimidated. The fire she sees in Marion's eyes is the same she saw in her own eyes whenever something or someone threatened Kira's life. She knew better than to mess with a mother in protective mode.
"Good" Marion stops in front of a door and opens it "come in"
They get inside ready to go deep into their uncertain future.
…
The whole way to Elise's office is done in silence.
Every now and then Cosima steals side glances at Elise trying to comprehend how she could be so similar but at the same time so different from the woman she loved. Her heart is beating fast with nervousness and excitement.
Calm down Cosima; if you do something stupid you're gonna scare her away or worse, she may just tackle you or some shit like that. Be cool, talk like a normal human being, try and get to know her and maybe…Ugh! Stop it! She's not Delphine! She's not Delphine!
Cosima repeats it in her mind trying to convince herself. Then she looks to her side again, staring at the woman.
But maybe this is the closest to her you will ever get.
There, for the first time in months, Cosima starts feeling something other than pain and loss. She now has hope.
Elise suddenly comes to a halt breaking Cosima's train of thought.
"Here" the blonde says holding the door open for Cosima.
Hesitantly, Cosima enters the office. She immediately moves to one side of the room to avoid making any physical contact with the tall blonde.
Elise walks past her to her desk, standing next to it, facing Cosima.
"So…" Cosima starts "I'm sorry about earlier it's just that I'm still very confused and honestly quite blown away, really like…" She begins moving her hands "I mean this has been a seriously fucked up day from beginning to end. I just discovered that… and then I almost…" Cosima closes her eyes and swallows "then I come here and I see you and…"
She watches Elise standing there with a face that shows nothing; with eyes that are empty. No kind expression, no shinny eyes. And that does it; she can't contain the emotions inside of her anymore.
"I'm sorry I can't …" tears form in Cosima's eyes "I thought I could but I can't, I can't do this!" she looks down "it's too painful; looking at you... hurts. I know we have to talk, that we both need the info but it's too much I…" her hand flies to her chest "I feel it here and…"
Elise calmly listens to Cosima's rambling. She observes also the way her hands move, how her body sways in place as she explains what's on her mind; how she tries and fails to keep her feelings at bay. Once she gets enough of analyzing the brunette, Elise removes her beret and places it on the desk.
"… I know you're not Delphine but I…"
She then takes long strides toward Cosima, grabs her face with both her hands and joins their lips in a crushing kiss.
Cosima jerks in surprise disconnecting the kiss, her eyes wide open "what… what are you doing" Her mind running a mile a minute.
She wants to detach from the blonde's reach; she wants to yell at her to stop pitying her, to stop using her… to stop whatever she's doing; because if she continues she may as well go insane.
But Elise only holds her face tighter leaning her forehead to hers. She then sighs whispering something that makes Cosima's heart stop and head spin.
"My love…"